3 ways to reach travelers on a budget this spring

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2023 is expected to be a big year for travel, but consumers are more price conscious than ever before. With inflation and labor shortages on the rise, the cost of travel has increased year over year (YoY). But that doesn’t mean consumers aren’t interested anymore, as 50% of consumers still consider investing in a vacation as a top priority for how they spend their money in 2023.

This aligns with our first-party data, as Microsoft Advertising has seen an increase of +103% YoY for travel searches containing the word “cheap” and an increase of +165% YoY for “deals.” Airlines, hotels, cruises, and car rentals were all included, showing that consumers are looking for cost saving measures in multiple ways for their upcoming vacations.

Since consumers are spending more time looking up deals, they’re also starting their search journey earlier. In the same study mentioned earlier, 61% of recently surveyed people said they’ll be planning their vacations further in advance than before this year.

This has led to a decline in last-minute travel, and Microsoft Advertising has seen a decrease of -11% YoY in searches and -17% YoY in clicks thus far for last-minute travel in 2023. People are more flexible on their vacation timing recently, with 50% of consumers agreeing they would be willing to travel in the off-season if it saved them money (something to keep in mind for spring break)!

With the price of gas continuously on the rise, online activity for public transportation has been booming on Microsoft Advertising. Consumers are frequently looking up alternative methods to car rentals, which have seen a -6% YoY decrease in clicks in 2023. Instead, they’re searching for more budget friendly options like Bus & Rail Services (+15% YoY in clicks) and Ridesharing (+101% YoY in clicks).